“I’m just a shopkeeper,” sings Ben Watt on the title track of his first solo album in 30 years, a sweet, understated ballad about contemplating a life of underachievement without too much regret. It’s not quite accurate, but reflects Watt’s shadowy musical identity as a perennial sideman and backroom operator. His atmospheric, electro-shaded productions provided the bedrock for partner Tracey Thorn’s coolly elegant voice in Everything But the Girl and, as their pop career faded, Watt has spent the past 15 years DJing, producing and running a record label. His belated return to where he started oozes class, perhaps because his oeuvre – touching on jazz, rock and folk – has always existed outside fashion. His smooth but expressionless voice can be a little bland for a frontman (and is always improved by Thorn’s occasional harmonies) and his carefully considered lyrics have a tidiness that sometimes verges on the prosaic. Yet the gentle mesh of flowing melody, woven instrumentation and mood of hard-earned contemplation adds up to something quite profound.